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And if that does happen, can I be the first to propose that its hottest corner be reserved for the political and media ideologues and “deniers” — including here in Canada — who act as if this fragile, overwhelmed planet is their own personal piggy bank from which to loot?

This latest global warming report is sobering. It makes a mockery of the notion, selfishly embraced by Canadian government leaders and others, that there is still time, and some wonky scientific justification, to wait, whistle and wonder — and hope for the best.

Instead, the urgent and virtually unanimous message from the world’s top scientists is that time is rapidly running out. In this early chapter of the 21st century, the clock is now ticking down for our precious planet.

Scientists believe that another 15 years of failure to limit human damage to the environment may make it impossible to control its consequences with existing technologies. If we get to that point, then all bets are off.

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For our children and grandchildren, if not for ourselves, it is clearly time — finally — for all of us to wake up.

This latest report released last Monday certainly made that clear. It was prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN group that, along with Al Gore, won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for its work examining the risks of climate change. Its report was drawn from more than 300 scientists and 12,000 scholarly articles to provide the most comprehensive portrait of climate risks so far.

The report concludes that those risks are breathtaking.

In graphic detail, it describes a world that is changing dramatically, and rapidly. Water supplies are under threat, heat waves and heavy rains are increasing, the ice caps and sea ice in the Arctic are collapsing and oceans are rising at a rate that threatens coastal communities.

The report says the overwhelming effects of climate change will be negative: “Throughout the 21st century, climate-change impacts are projected to slow down economic growth, make poverty reduction more difficult, (and) further erode food security.”

In a hopeful note, it pointed out there are some signs that governments and businesses worldwide are beginning to act to mitigate the effects of climate change, however reluctantly. And the report’s authors expressed hope that this will increase.

“I think that dealing effectively with climate change is just going to be something that great nations do,” said Christopher Field, co-chairman of the working group that wrote the report.

But what about the other nations that don’t deal effectively with climate change, such as Canada?

In the high-stakes world of global environmental politics, Canada has become a paradox — and a pariah — to most foreigners who care. Whereas Canadians as a people consistently indicate they see protection of the environment as a core national value, their Conservative federal government is regarded globally as leading a country that is one of the world’s worst polluters per capita.

Compared to 27 other countries. Canada has fallen to last in terms of its efforts to deal with climate change.

That is the assessment of the Center for Global Development, a U.S. think-tank. It cites high per capita fossil fuel consumption, rising carbon emissions and Canada’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol, which committed major industrial economies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

An implied message of the UN report is that the citizens of the world cannot rely solely on governments to navigate us through this crisis. Their track record overall — not only Canada’s — has been dismal.

The world’s nations are beginning to work toward a new international climate change protocol that would replace Kyoto. The crucial meeting will be in Paris at the end of 2015. Governments will gather there claiming some sort of mandate from their voters to determine the road ahead.

Canada is scheduled to go the polls next year, shortly before this meeting is held.

Isn’t this a great opportunity for Canadians as a people to reclaim our commitment to an environmental policy that truly serves our future generations?

Tony Burman, former head of Al-Jazeera English and CBC News, teaches journalism at Ryerson University. (tony.burman@gmail.com )

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